success with accutane

[Guest guest]

Hi -- I just wanted to make a quick comment about how

accutane has changed my life for the better. I started

taking it July 2001 at 10mg every other day. My

rosacea completely disappeared! The flushing, red

face, pustules, everything is gone. It's like a

miracle.

I have now whittled my dosage to 10 mg every 5 days.

My goal is to get to 10 mg every 7 days, which,

according to my dermatologist would not adversely

impact my health long-term. I'm inclined to keep using

it until some reason comes along not to. Now that I've

gained my former life back I am a strong advocate of

low-dose accutane.

--- doubleoh7_mi6 ciz@...> wrote:

>

> > I am a 54 year old male. I suffered from

> persistent acne vulgaris

> > from early teens until I was 40 in 1988. Then I

> took Roaccutane for

> > three months. All acne cleared up in afew weeks

> and stayed away for

> > 12 more years. I had no side effects whatsoever

> other than the

> > expected dryness of face and scalp. Nothing else

> bothered me. My

> > life changed for the better and my skin was very

> clear.

> > Two years ago the acne returned again, this time a

> different type.

> I

> > got hard painful pustules that felt like thorns in

> the flesh and

> were

> > sore until they popped and the pus was released.

> My MD put me on

> the

> > usual acne treatments which had little noticeable

> effect. The acne

> > was concentrated in the front of the face, upper

> lip area and chin.

> > About three new pustules formed rapidly each day

> and took two/three

> > more days to ripen and burst. I looked a mess and

> felt depressed.

>

>

>

> Pustules in this distribution which occur and

> resolve quickly and

> have a yellowish hue as compared to a whiter colored

> pustule are

> highly suggestive of gram negtive folliculitis.

> Especially, if

> you've been on antibiotics for a long time. But the

> incidence of

> gram negative folliculitis is very low 2-3%, so you

> probably didn't

> have this. In any case, for gram - folliculitis,

> your choices are

> accutane or an appropriate gram negative covering

> antibiotic.

>

>

>

> > After much arguing with my MD he reluctantly

> referred me to a

> > dermatologist.

> > I went to the dermatologist with a request that I

> should perhaps

> > repeat the Roaccutane treatment again, believing

> it would once

> again

> > be a quick fix to rid me of the acne.

> > The specialist suspected that it was not acne I

> now had but

> cea.

> > He said that low dose Roaccutane was effective in

> treating this

> > incurable disease. I was alarmed at the thought of

> rosacea being

> > incurable and became deeply worried.

>

>

>

>

> > The specialist said that he was almost certain I

> had rosacea so in

> > order to find out if he was right he said there

> were two tests. One

> > was to go on a full course of Roaccutane and if I

> had acne it would

> > clear up. If I had rosacea it would be aggravated

> and become worse

> > from a full course of Roaccutane because of the

> severe drying of

> the

> > skin. The other test was a much gentler one and he

> put me on a tiny

> > dose of Roaccutane of just 5mgs/day for six weeks.

> He said if it

> was

>

>

> Yes, finally someone who gets it. The 5 mg

> accutanes supposedly

> aren't being made anymore. Roche in its european

> market used to have

> 2.5 and 5 mg capsules, but allegedly these have been

> discontinued.

>

>

>

> > rosacea I had it would improve markedly over the

> six weeks. I had

> > great doubts of the effect of 5mgs compared with

> the 40-80mg I had

> > been on in 1988. I got my supply of drug from the

> pharmacy (costing

> > very little compared with the full dose I had in

> 1988)and felt

> > cheated when I saw the tiny capsule I was to take.

> I calculated I

> was

> > now on a dose of about one-sixteenth of that in

> 1988.

> > Three weeks have now passed and my skin is clear

> again. There has

> not

> > been a new pustule for a week. The oiliness of my

> skin has reduced

> > and I have experienced no adverse effects.

> > The downside of this remarkable remission from

> rosacea is that I

> was

> > told that I would have to remain on the 5mgs/day

> for the rest of my

> > life. It is not the quick fix I expected this

> time. I've researched

> > the Internet for information on low dose

> Accutane/Roaccutane and

> > cea and was pleased to learn that this

> treatment has been

> gaining

> > popularity but with a dose of 10mgs/day. I was

> delighted that it

> > worked for me at just half that dose (5mgs).

>

>

> It is popular at 10 mg/d because in the US we only

> have the 10 mg.

> It is based on the .1mg/kg/d dose guideline -- one

> tenth of the acne

> dose guideline of 1mg/kg/d.

>

>

> > Has anyone been on this low dose treatment and how

> long have they

> > been on it? I read in one research paper that the

> long term benefit

> > of low dose Accutane treatment may be limited

> because of the

> > cholesteral side effect. My dermatologist says I

> need not worry

> about

> > that with the low dose I'm on.

>

> No increased cholesterol or abnormal liver enzymes

> have been reported

> with the 10mg /d dose. Incidentally, per Roche, no

> reports of

> pseudotumor cerebri with taking accutane with or

> without

> tetracyclines have been reported for doses under 40

> mg /d.

>

>

>

>

> > Grateful for any information anyone might have on

> this treatment

> and

> > in particular I would like to hear first hand from

> those who have

> > been on low dose Accutane/Roaccutane for long

> periods.

>

>

>

> --

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> See http://www.drnase.com for info on his recently

> published book.

>

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